Bodies of possible Ebola victims found in central Monrovia

by
Reuters

Sunday, 3 August 2014 19:05 GMT

A UNICEF worker speaks with drivers of motorcycle taxis about the symptoms of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and best practices to help prevent its spread, in the city of Voinjama, in Lofa County, Liberia in this April 2014 UNICEF handout photo. REUTERS/Ahmed Jallanzo/UNICEF/Handout via Reuters

MONROVIA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The bodies of two men previously showing symptoms of Ebola lay in the streets of Monrovia for four days before being collected by health workers on Sunday, residents told Reuters.

"They both gave up and dropped dead on the ground on the street of Clara Town," said resident Nema Red, referring to a district of the Liberian capital.

Both men had shown symptoms of Ebola such as bleeding and vomiting before they died but scared locals had refused to take them to the hospital, she added.

Information Minister Lewis Brown confirmed that the bodies had been collected, although he said they had only been there for a few hours. "I can confirm that the bodies were in the street. They have been removed," he said on Sunday.

(Reporting by Derick Snyder in Monrovia and Emma Farge in Dakar; Editing by Stephen Powell)